Sound Transit Insists It Has No Idea When Light Rail Will Reach Ballard
Just weeks before a vote to overhaul the voter-approved Sound Transit 3 (ST3) expansion plan, agency leaders are insisting that estimating opening dates for deferred stations like those in Seattle's Ballard, Interbay, Hillman City neighborhoods is impossible. Nonetheless, estimates for opening dates remain a core request from the Seattle delegation on Sound Transit's 18-member board.
Seattle Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck (who doesn't serve on the board) showed up at Sound Transit's Union Station boardroom to deliver that request during a special meeting of the Executive Committee on Thursday afternoon.
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'Give us a date' has also been a core ask of advocates, including the Save Ballard Rail coalition, which led a well-attended rally and march in April. Business groups like the Ballard Alliance and the North Seattle Industrial Association have echoed similar points about pointing more information out there.
Those two business groups recently sent a letter urging Sound Transit to do more to expedite the project and find funding solutions. They also urged Sound Transit to extend it's truncated line to Smith Cove to improve bus connections and reduce construction impacts, which could be acute in the busy Seattle Center area.
https://www.theurbanist.org/sound-transit-insists-it-has-no-idea-when-light-rail-will-reach-ballard/